Crusader 2
Crusader 2 was a robot from Essex that competed in Series 4 of the television game show Robot Wars. It reached the second round of its heat before being defeated by Mortis. Its predecessor, Crusader, also competed in the Series 3 Pinball side tournament, finishing joint-fourth with a score of 90 points. Versions of Crusader Both versions of Crusader were invertible, low box-shaped robots with sloped sides and wedges, six-wheel drive, polycarbonate armour and a small pneumatic lifting arm located at the front. The centre two wheels were noticeably larger than the others, giving Crusader 2 a fast rate of spin on both sides. Both Crusader machines also featured two white lights on the front wedge resembling eyes, as well as strips of red LEDs along the sides which pulsated as they moved. Crusader The original Crusader that appeared in Series 3 was painted yellow and black with a hazard sign printed on the top armour, and featured a wider lifting arm. The robot had a steel chassis, polyurethane tyres for extra grip, and two 24V EMD 700W motors. 2 24V EMD 700W motors It was powered by 2 12V, 16Ah, Dry Fit batterie, and had drive electronics designed by the team, with two drive boards, one for each drive motor, each capable of delivering 100A. The robot also had a 0.8 litres high-pressure air reservoir linked to a 10 Bar first stage regulator which powered the flipper, which the team referred to as a shovel. The shovel had the power to lift around 80Kg in 0.3 seconds to a height of 450mm. At the Series 3 auditions, this version was repainted black with red and yellow decals, with yellow and black hazard stripes on its lifter. Crusader 2 Crusader 2 sported a white and red paint scheme resembling the cross of the Crusaders, from which it got its name, and had its lifting arm modified to include a pair of stainless steel spikes on its tip. Greater attention was made towards Crusader 2's dual redundant chain drive throughout its Series 4 appearance, which enabled a second drive chain to take over another if one broke, snapped or came off, allowing the robot to continue fighting. The lifting arm also had the capacity to lift Crusader's own weight. Crusader 2 proved surprisingly fast and aggressive in its only main series appearance, but the dual redundant chain drive proved unreliable, and its polycarbonate armour was easily damaged. The Team Crusader was entered by a team of work colleagues from Essex. Team captain Chris Williams was the only team member to be present in both the team's appearances. All of the team members, and various other people who worked on the robots, worked in the Design and Development Department of Printed Forms Equipment. Robot History Series 3 As the second robot to compete in the Pinball competition, Crusader started well, immediately toppling the barrels, before dodging Sir Killalot and Sergeant Bash to hit the 50-point target. After briefly getting stuck under the target, it was freed by Sergeant Bash and hit the multiball release, scoring more points and pressing one of the balls against the latter until it exploded. However, Crusader immediately hurtled across the arena, drove close to one of the pits and hit the wall, before abruptly ending its run by reversing itself into the second pit. Even so, Crusader still scored 90 points, enough for it to finish joint fourth overall in the Pinball competition, along with Eye of Newt. Series 4 Crusader 2 entered Heat D, facing Cronos and previous Grand Finalist Steg 2 in its first round battle. Crusader 2 drove into Steg 2 and flipped it against the arena wall, with Dead Metal helping to re-right Steg 2 as he attacked it. Crusader 2 proceeded to attack Cronos, before Steg 2 rammed into both robots and flipped Cronos a full 360 degrees. It then proceeded to ram Steg 2 into the wall again, causing the latter's flipper to catch fire after being placed close to the flame jets, before lifting and shoving it into Dead Metal again. Both Crusader 2 and Steg 2 became locked together, with Cronos coming in to separate them. Steg 2 then became stuck against the arena wall, with Crusader 2 slamming into it again and freeing it to resume their battle together. Even so, both Crusader 2 and Steg 2 would progress anyway, as Cronos was pitted by Sir Killalot not long afterwards. In the second round, Crusader 2 fought the twenty-third seed Mortis, another robot that also appeared in the Series 3 Pinball. It began strongly, lifting Mortis up before Mortis pinned it against the wall and began hitting it with its rapid-firing axe. Eventually, Mortis' axe became embedded in Crusader 2's top armour as the latter lifted it again, and both robots were separated as they slammed into Dead Metal. Mortis then axed and rammed Crusader 2 into Shunt, where part of Crusader 2's bottom armour fell off. Eventually, Crusader 2 lost drive to one side, its dual-chain system failing to work, and was attacked by Shunt, Dead Metal and Sir Killalot as it became apparent that it was no longer fully mobile. As a result, Crusader 2 was duly eliminated from the Fourth Wars. Results |} |} Wins/Losses *Wins: 1 *Losses: 1 Series Record Crusader with team.jpg|The original Crusader with its team crusader 2 wc cameo.png|Crusader 2's cameo in the First World Championship CrusaderAlt.jpg|The original Crusader with a different paint job at the Series 3 auditions Crusader2Team.jpg|The team with Crusader 2 Crusader2 mag.png|Crusader 2 in the Robot Wars Magazine Crusader2 book.jpg|Crusader 2 in The Official Robot Guide crusader 2 insides pits.png|Crusader 2 insides during Series 4 Trivia *Both of Crusader's appearances were in Heat D, because Crusader's Pinball run was shown as part of Heat D of Series 3. *Chris Williams was part of The Steering Committee. *Originally, Crusader was designed to have four wheels, but the team decided to change it after building the prototype. External Links *The Crusader Website (archived) Category:UK Series competitors Category:Pinball only competitors Category:Robots with Lifters Category:Robots from Essex Category:Robots with alternate versions Category:Robots that bore the English flag Category:Robots to appear in Battle Cards Pack 3 Category:Robots with an equal amount of Wins and Losses Category:Pinball Warrior competitors Category:Robots which debuted in Series 3 Category:Robots which have driven into the Pit Category:Members of the Steering Committee Category:Robots with cameo appearances in Extreme Warriors Season 1